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City managers describe staffing cuts and service impacts; council raises ADA, bus‑stop and illegal‑dumping concerns
Summary
Greenbelt officials said several public‑works positions will be left unfunded in FY26 to help balance the budget, creating modest increases in comp time and reduced weekend litter pickup; councilors and residents pressed staff on ADA accessibility, bus‑stop upgrades and illegal dumping at the recycling site after a camera trailer was destroyed.
City Manager Josue Semoran and Public Works Director Brian Kim told council that the FY26 budget relies in part on holding key public‑works positions vacant and applying vacancy management to help close budget gaps.
Semoran said several positions — including an assistant director for public‑works operations and selected maintenance positions — are not funded for 2026 and will be restored only if future funding allows. “They're being held vacant, and as funding allows, we'll look to restore those positions,” Semoran said. Kim acknowledged a slight uptick in comp time but described it as “negligible.” He said some weekend litter‑pickup frequency will be reduced without those staff.
ADA and accessibility concerns
Council members and residents pressed staff to improve tracking and accountability for accessibility upgrades. Council and resident commenters asked for more granular performance measures on bus‑stop accessibility (pads, shelters, benches) rather than aggregated zeroes in performance tables. Resident Michael Hartman suggested replacing the term “handicap ramp” with “curb cuts” for clarity; staff agreed to use the term “curb cuts.”
Semoran and Kim said the city does not have a dedicated in‑house subject‑matter expert on disability access but that contractors are required to meet ADA standards for concrete and curb design and that staff are pursuing training for existing employees.
Illegal dumping and recycling center enforcement
Public Works staff described a recent incident in which a trailer that carried a camera used to deter illegal dumping was destroyed after being struck; staff removed wheel assemblies and added concrete barriers to deter theft and are pursuing insurance and replacement options. Kim said the city issued a $1,000 citation to one person caught illegally dumping and is evaluating fixed camera installations to better deter repeat violations.
Other maintenance items
Councilors asked about playground inspections (staff reported weekly and quarterly inspections and recent certification of an inspector), sidewalk and resurfacing budgets (staff said capital and operations funding levels remain consistent with prior years), and recycling‑center disposal costs (staff said personnel time and reactionary disposal fees are currently absorbed within the public‑works budget but may occur unpredictably). No formal decisions were made at the work session.
